TWO women were stuck inside the Blackbutt Reserve wildlife exhibit for almost three hours after the park locked its entrance gates.
Sasha Cvetanoski, 35, was visiting the reserve with a friend on Thursday, September 5, before coming to the realisation they had been locked inside.
"We got there around 4pm and we were looking at the bird sanctuary and came back down and found the gates to be closed at 4.30pm," she said.
"There was no last call warning to let us know that the park was closing."
The two women made calls and texts to the emergency after hours numbers linked to City of Newcastle but there was no response.
"I wasn't stressed at first but it was the fact that when I tried to ring the numbers provided, no one was answering. That's when it became stressful and frustrating," Ms Cvetanoski said.
She called her mum who also tried to make calls to the numbers and again, no response.
"It was starting to get dark really fast and we ended up calling the police to help us," she said.
Newcastle City Police received the call to the reserve on Carnley Avenue, Kotara, about 4.45pm following the concern for welfare.
"Unable to raise the alarm with local authorities, police from Newcastle City Police District were notified and attended the scene," a NSW Police spokesperson said.
"Officers made cuts in the fence to allow the pair to escape without injury," they said.
Ms Cvetanoski said police arrived and they exited the reserve at 7.15pm.
She said she felt disappointed that no local authorities responded on the emergency numbers provided to help in this type of situation.
"They should've answered. What if someone had a medical episode and they never answered? It's upsetting," she said.
"Hopefully they get their act together so this doesn't happen again."
A City of Newcastle spokesperson said they regretted the unfortunate incident that occurred at Blackbutt Reserve and would contact those involved.
"As with all incidents, City of Newcastle will review its emergency contact procedures to ensure public safety," they said.
The spokesperson said City of Newcastle staff followed the standard Blackbutt Reserve boardwalk closing procedure, which includes systematically moving along the boardwalk to lock gates and a sweep of the enclosure to ensure no members of the public are present following its closure.
"During this procedure staff did not encounter these members of the public," they said.
